


good timber

by conversewit



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, F/M, Hale Family Feels, M/M, Multi, References to Suicide, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-23
Updated: 2013-11-11
Packaged: 2017-12-21 02:49:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/894912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conversewit/pseuds/conversewit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unlike Derek and Laura, who both looked like their mother, Cora had the same brown eyes and hair color that their father had.  Ben Hale had taught her how to ride a bike, how to swim, and how to skip rocks on the lake in the Preserve. Never again would she watch hours of serialized cop shows as her father read the newspaper and criticized the bad acting under his breath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU where there’s no Hale fire and most everyone is alive. The idea of Isaac and Cora together just grabbed me and wouldn’t let go until I wrote this. Warnings at the bottom

_Good timber does not grow with ease:_  
 _The stronger wind, the stronger trees;_  
 _The further sky, the greater length;_  
 _The more the storm, the more the strength._  
 _By sun and cold, by rain and snow,_  
 _In trees and men good timbers grow._  
-Douglas Malloch

Cora sat behind the wheel of her mother’s Toyota on a crisp December night. Currently, she was parked in the deserted lot at Beacon Hills High. Leaning her head on the steering wheel she looked through the windshield to see the comforting light of the waxing moon high in the sky.

“Am I really going to do this?” she mumbled to herself as she turned to the passenger’s seat giving her back pack an apprehensive look. Gripping the wheel tighter she tried to prepare yourself for what she was about to do.

“I’m never going to get another chance like this,” she muttered to herself as she unclenched her fingers--not claws--from the wheel as she opened the smaller pocket of her bag and took out a plastic sandwich bag of wolfsbane, a lighter, and a small glass bowl she’d stolen from Derek’s room when he was out running errands for Peter earlier in the day.

Her parents were both out of town visiting a neighboring pack taking her grandparents with them, which technically left Peter in charge of making sure Cora went to school on time and ate her vegetables--like putting Peter in charge of another living thing wasn’t asking for trouble and Cora was about to turn 17 this year and had been responsible for feeding and dressing herself since middle school, and Laura was away at school out of state most of the year. For once her legion of cousins wasn’t swarming her house, which just left Derek. But when Cora had left the house he was buried under the hood of the Camaro, absorbed in his tinkering, which is how she was sure he was too preoccupied to listen to her traitorous heartbeat as she lied about her plans for tonight.

Rubbing her eyes with her left hand she flipped down the gray plastic visor and looked at herself in the small glass square. Unlike Derek and Laura, who both looked like their mother, Cora had the same brown eyes and hair color that their father had. Thinking about her father almost made her resolve crumble. Ben Hale had taught her how to ride a bike, how to swim, and how to skip rocks on the lake in the Preserve. Never again would she watch hours of serialized cop shows as her father read the newspaper and criticized the bad acting under his breath. The thought of never spending another day with her siblings and cousins at their lake house fishing and having bonfires made her feel like there was a stone in her stomach.

Sighing as she pushed her hair back from her forehead, “I’m sorry Dad, I won’t be able to go to that Giants/Dodgers game with you,” said Cora to her tired reflection.

She pursed her lips before she used her hearing to check if there was anyone still on school grounds. If there was one thing she didn’t need right now it would be to run into Ms. Blake while she was grading essays late at night. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be disturbed she grabbed her supplies and made her way to pool.

\-----------

As a general rule Isaac Lahey tries to make himself as unobtrusive as possible. This motto had served him well ever since his mother and then older brother had died. Escape notice and therefore escape his father’s wrath. In practice this rule was harder to follow when he still lived with his father.

Escaping his father’s wrath was what led him back to school late one Saturday night. The first half of the school year was over which meant that Coach Lahey was in fine form trying to prepare for swim season. Unfortunately for Isaac his father had left a manila folder filled with vital information about the new recruits in the natatorium. Why he couldn’t wait until school was actually in session on Monday to get these forms was a question Isaac didn’t dare voice.

This was what led Isaac to ride his bike back to school, not questioning why there was a silver Toyota SUV in the lot this late at night, and used his father’s keys to unlock the doors to the pool. Paranoid that someone would catch him, Isaac slowly closed the door instead of letting it slam shut.

As he walked toward the pool he noticed that he wasn’t alone. Strewn around the pool were a pair of black ankle boots and a cardigan.

“What the fuck,” Isaac said to himself as he noticed there was a body in the pool. Before he realized his body was moving Isaac unwrapped the scarf from around his neck and dove into the pool. His heart pounding he swam toward the prone form that was slowly sinking to the bottom of the pool. A strong swimmer, Isaac had probably spent an equal amount of his life on land and in the water.

Without thinking he put his arms around the potential drowning victim and with a display of strength that he would later be surprise to know he had, pulled her out of the water and onto the concrete. Where he was surprised to discover that Cora Hale was whom he had saved.

“Jesus Christ,” Isaac muttered as he took in Cora’s pale face, “Come on Cora. Wake up,” Isaac said as he frantically tried to get his classmate to start breathing again. Trying to remember basic CPR at a time like this was clutch, as Isaac desperately applied pressure to Cora’s chest before tilting her head back.

“Come on, come on,” Isaac said as he continued trying to revive Cora. Isaac’s heart just about jumped out of his chest when finally Cora coughed violently, spitting up water.

“What,” Cora said hoarsely as she lied on the floor, “What happened? What are you doing here?”

“What I am doing here?” Isaac demanded, “What the fuck were you doing? Are you--just why,” said Isaac suddenly exhausted as he fell back onto the cement floor. From his new vantage point he was able to see that a few feet away from him was a blue green glass bowl and lighter.

“Were you smoking weed and swimming?” Isaac asked, surprised by how angry his voice sounded. Before Isaac could say anything else Cora suddenly sat up and retched black goo.

“What the fuck is happening,” Isaac asked as he held Cora’s hair back as she vomited. Once she was done she groaned as if she was in physical pain. As her head lolled black Isaac caught sight of her eyes which were glowing yellow.

Just as he was about to drop his millionth f-bomb of the night Cora began to speak.

“There wasn’t supposed to be anyone here tonight,” Cora said, her throat like sand paper.

“What’s happening to you,” Isaac said rather than asked, because what even was happening right now. “What are you on? Your eyes are glowing.”

Isaac wasn’t sure if she planned on answering before her body convulsed painfully in his arms.

“Cora! Cora!” shouted Isaac as he shook the shivering girl in his arms, “I’m calling 911.” Isaac said as he searched through his soggy pockets for his phone.

“No. Get the--bowl and the lighter,” Cora said weakly.

“Now is not the time to get high.” Isaac said, furious.

“It’ll help. Let me--” Cora tried to crawl toward the bowl in question.

“Cora. No!” Isaac said as he tried to prevent her from moving, with an inhuman growl Cora pushed the other boy off her. Isaac watched frozen as Cora made her way to the plastic bag of and tried with shaking fingers to work the lighter.

Feeling like he was in a dream, Isaac moved toward the monstrous form of the youngest Hale sister and took the lighter out of her hands. Clenching the cheap plastic in his fist he successfully lit a flame and took a blue flower from Cora’s trembling fingers, eyes widening when the flame glowed blue. Flicking his eyes back to Cora he noticed that her claws--she had claws now--were bloody.

“Press the ash,” Cora said feebly, “Into my my--” Isaac didn’t have to guess what she was referring to, there was now a long gash on Cora’s arm. Unclear on how this would help her he dutifully pressed the ash into her wound.

The sound Cora made could only be accurately described as a howl and her eyes glowed a luminous yellow, fingers sheathed in claws. She convulsed once more before she collapsed onto the ground like a marionette without strings.

With eyes that were still closed, Cora spoke in a clear voice. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”

Isaac blinked. “What just happened?”

Cora sat up. The gash on her arm was completely healed and looking at Cora’s olive complexion now it would be impossible to tell that less than an hour ago she’d A) almost drowned and B) turned into some kind of monster or vampire.

Picking up her sweater and putting it on as if putting a dry sweater over her wet clothes was a completely normal thing to do, Cora began clearing away the leftover ash and stuffing her bowl and plastic bag into her pocket. As she began slipping her feet into her ankle boots, she said calmly as if they were discussing an upcoming assignment “You won’t tell anyone what just happened.”

Dumbfounded Isaac could only watch as Cora used a black hair tie to pull her long brown locks into a bun.

“You won’t tell anyone what happened,” Cora said again as she began to walk towards the doors Isaac had come through. Isaac wasn’t sure if he was trying reassure herself or if she was actually talking to him.

He followed her all the way to her car. Trying to ignore how cold his wet clothes made him. She stopped just short of unlocking her car.

“Yes?” she asked, arching a brow.

“What just happened?” Isaac asked dumbly.

Cora leveled him with the thousand yard stare that all the Hales seemed to be born wearing.

“Seriously, what was that?” Isaac repeated.

Cora ignored him as she got into her car and buckled her seatbelt. She barely even spared him a glance as she put the Toyota into reverse and backed out of her space.

“Are you even okay to drive?” Isaac called to the SVU’s headlights as they disappeared down the road. After running a hand through his wet curls, Isaac sighed and glimpsed the time on his watch.

Shit. He’d already been out for an hour. His dad was probably calling his waterlogged phone and leaving him an angry voicemail for taking his sweet time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels good to get back in the groove of writing. Woo. No Derek/Stiles this chapter. This is so obviously AU and I haven’t decided whether I’m going to incorporate the Alpha Pack into this yet.

As she drove back to her house Cora felt strangely calm. She could almost pretend that she was driving home from a night out with Lydia and Allison and not from a night where Isaac Lahey had seen her wolf out while saving her from drowning. 

The clock on the dash told her it was just after midnight. Hopefully Derek was in bed by now so she wouldn’t have to answer questions about what she’d been up to. If she was really lucky Peter would also have decided to stay in his apartment downtown. 

Frowning, she tried to think of the best way to flush the scent of wolfsbane out of her mother’s car, which no doubt would bring up invasive questions when her parents returned from their trip. More troubling was how she would explain the missing wolfsbane from her father’s medicine cabinet. Deciding to leave it for morning she cut the ignition and headed inside. 

It looked like miracles were possible when she entered the house, it was dark and quiet. Making a pit stop in the kitchen for a glass of water, Cora used her enhanced hearing to find out who else was home. Placing her glass in the sink, Cora climbed the stairs, wincing as her soggy clothes dripped on the carpet. 

A cursory glance down the hallway revealed a sliver of light from underneath Derek’s door. He was probably in bed reading. Cora headed to the bathroom to take a shower. 

\------

Isaac blinked as he messed up the combination on his locker again. After he’d finally accomplished the errand his father had tasked him with Isaac had rushed home. As Isaac had predicted his father had tried to call him and not being able to reach Isaac hadn’t improved his already volatile mood. 

After berating Isaac for being “too stupid to live,” his father had given him the gift of what felt like at least 2 broken ribs. As the late bell rang, Isaac snapped out of his daze and he successfully opened his locker to get his chemistry notes. Quickly shoving everything in his bag, he turned to sprint to Harris’ class, not keen on being late. 

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Cora methodically taking books out of her locker. Frowning, Isaac weighed how much he wanted to become the subject of Mr. Harris’ ire for being late over satisfying his curiosity over what happened at the pool the night before. 

Walking toward Cora, “Are you okay?” he asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder to see that the hallway was empty. 

Cora didn’t even look up, “And why wouldn’t I be okay?” she asked evenly. 

Isaac couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes, “You’re shitting me right? If I hadn’t been at the pool last night you would have died. And what the fuck were you even on anyway--”

Slamming her locker shut with finality, Cora pinned her intense stare on Isaac. “What’s it to you?”

Isaac’s jaw dropped, “Are you kidding? Last night you were basically heading toward the light and you’re looking at me like I’m the one who’s hallucinating,” he said incredulously. 

Cora rolled her eyes, hitched her bag higher up on her shoulder and started walking away. 

“Unbelievable,” Isaac muttered to himself as he jogged to catch up with her.

After a beat Cora spoke, “Are you going to rat me out for being in the pool after hours?”

Isaac stopped walking, grabbing Cora’s arm to halt her movement as well. “That’s all you have to say? Are you okay?”

Cora looked at him before her steely demeanor broke, “Look--I know we aren’t friends so you don’t owe me anything. But you’d really be doing me a solid if you could pretend like last night never happened.”

Feeling lost Isaac refrained from replying, “You of all people should know what it’s like to have something about yourself that you want to keep private.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Cora raised an eyebrow before pressing a hand on his left side, Isaac gasped and would have fallen to the floor if Cora hadn’t caught him by the arms. 

“Get taken down too hard by Greenberg during lacrosse practice?” she asked sardonically. 

Heart pounding Isaac tried to read the youngest Hale. If she knew--how many other people knew? Had she told anyone?

“Relax. Isaac, you do this one favor for me and we can both forget that this conversation ever happened.” Cora said evenly. 

“Alright,” Isaac said, feeling strangely light as the pain in his ribs seemed to disappear for the time being, not noticing that the veins in Cora’s arm were turning black from leeching his pain away. 

“Now that that’s cleared up, let’s go. I really don’t want to get detention from Harris for being late.” said Cora, grabbing Isaac’s forearm and dragging him down the hallway toward their classroom. 

\----

Cora picked at her bland macaroni and cheese listlessly as she listened to Lydia recount her date with Jackson from the night before. Sighing she wondered how much pressure it would take for her plastic fork to pierce her eardrum so she wouldn’t have to hear Lydia talk about how she forced Jackson into watching The Notebook once again. 

“Cora?”

“Huh? Cora snapped out of her reverie to find Lydia looking at her intently. 

“I was asking why you didn’t answer when I called you last night. What did you end up doing?” Lydia said arching a strawberry blond eyebrow. 

“Oh--nothing really. Watched TV and went to bed,” Cora replied absently. 

Trying to ignore the strange look that Lydia was sending her way Cora tried to focus on her food. 

“Anyway, now that Cora is back with us, we were discussing Winter Formal. Jackson has kindly volunteered his house for the pre-game. I was thinking maybe we should rent a limo--”

“I don’t know Lydia, isn’t that a little much?” Allison cut in. 

“It’s not like we can’t afford it,” Lydia returned, while the two of them argued about the pros and cons of limousine rental, Danny nudged Cora’s arm. 

“Are you going with anyone?” he asked quietly, shooting a look at Jackson who was looking at something on his phone. 

Sighing, Cora paused, “Probably not. Are you still dating that guy?” 

Jackson snorted but before he could say anything Danny replied, “Unfortunately no. I was thinking I’d just go stag.”

“I’m thinking I’m probably going to go alone too,” said Cora, not really caring for the current topic of conversation. 

This was enough to grab Lydia’s attention, “Why wouldn’t you go with a date?”

Refraining from rolling her eyes, “Not all of us are lucky enough to have a boyfriend plus a back-up admirer in case of emergencies,” Cora said looking one table over where Stiles sat with Scott, gesticulating wildly. 

“What about Boyd?” Allison asked her gaze still pinned on Scott. 

Cora pretended to think this over, “I like him but we’re just friends. What about you?”

Allison finally managed to tear herself away from the riveting image of Scott eating pudding, “I was thinking I would go with Scott,” she said shyly. 

It was surprising that Jackson didn’t pull something from how hard he sneered “McCall? Really?”

\---

Sharing study hall with Stiles was usually a mixed bag. On one hand he was incredibly smart and easy to study with and on the other he was still obsessed with Lydia and on more than one occasion had spent 45 minutes detailing everything he loved about her in excruciating detail. Today Cora was pretty sure he was actually talking about an upcoming assignment but for the life of her she could not make herself care. 

Suddenly interrupting his rant, “Who are you taking to Winter Formal?” she asked abruptly. 

Stiles blinked, “Um--” 

“And don’t say you’re planning on asking Lydia, because even though I know you pray for it daily, she and Jackson haven’t broken up,” Cora said as she doodled in the margin of her chem notebook while ignoring Stiles’ sour look. 

“I hadn’t really thought it about it I guess.” he replied, chewing on his lip. 

“What about Scott?” Cora asked, not lifting her eyes from what was becoming just one of many triskelions. 

“As far as I know he’s not going with anyone yet. Why are you interested--”

“He should ask Allison. She wants him to go with her.” Cora cut in. 

“Really? I think Scott might die of happiness. At lunch he spent 20 minutes talking about her dimples and how adorable they were,” said Stiles exasperatedly. 

“Yeah I bet that’s really annoying,” Cora muttered to herself as she capped her pen. “So that settles it. He’s taking her.”

Stiles stared at her. 

“What?”

“Nothing!” Stiles said quickly trying and failing to return to working on their problem set. Cora could feel his eyes on her as she looked through her bag for her calculator. 

Sighing, she met Stiles’ gaze, “Yes?”

“Uh--would you want to go to the dance with me?” Stiles said so quietly that if Cora hadn’t been a werewolf she would have missed it entirely. 

It was now Cora’s turn to stare. 

“You want to go with me?” she asked dumbly. 

“Uh--yeah. Of course. I mean yes. Yes, I want to go with you.” Stiles stammered nervously, with an oddly steady heartbeat. 

“Okay,” said Cora slowly.

“Okay. I’ll pick you up at 8.” Stiles said cheerfully, “I mean. If that’s okay with you,” he stammered nervously.

\---- 

“I heard you’re going with Stiles to formal,” Allison said as she pulled a headband out of her gym locker and put it on. 

“This happened 45 minutes ago, how do you know about this already?” Cora asked as she knelt down to tie her sneakers. 

“Scott told me,” Allison said, flushing as she fell into step beside Cora, walking out of the locker room and into the gym to start running laps. 

“Alright worms, let me see some laps!” Finstock yelled manically.

“Oh Scott told you, huh?” Cora teased, bumping Allison with her shoulder. 

“We’re going to get dinner before,” Allison said absently, probably imagining what her impending date with Scott would be like. 

Cora would be disgusted if it wasn’t so sickeningly adorable. After a moment of silence, Allison spoke. 

“You and Stiles should come too. We could double,” she said, poking Cora in the stomach. 

Sighing, Cora looked over at Stiles who was unsuccessfully trying to climb a rope while Scott cheered him on. 

“I don't know. It’s really weird that he even asked me. I mean isn’t he still in love with Lydia?” Cora asked. 

“I don’t think it counts as love if you’ve never actually dated. He’s just infatuated with her,” Allison said breezily.

“So you’re saying that it’s completely normal for a guy who’s completely infatuated with one girl to ask a different girl out?” Cora said skeptically, Stiles was now complaining about his rope burn to Finstock who was blowing his whistle in a vain attempt to stop Stiles’ tirade. 

“Maybe he’s trying to get over her,” Allison suggested. 

“Awesome, so I’m his rebound,” Cora said, frowning. 

“Stop being so pessimistic. You’re his date. Maybe if it goes well, his future girlfriend,” Allison said nudging Cora playfully.

“The future Mrs. Stiles Stilinski,” Cora said morbidly as Allison erupted into giggles. 

\--- 

Feeling relieved, Cora made her way to car. Winter Formal was all Lydia could talk about. And frankly Cora was already over it and the event hadn’t even taken place yet. Unlocking her Toyota, she tossed her bag in the front seat, she almost jumped out of her skin when Isaac tapped on her driver’s side window. 

“What?” she asked angrily.

“Before when you touched my ribs--they stopped hurting for hours,” Isaac trailed off, his face white with pain. 

Cora looked at him, taking in his hunched over posture and clammy skin. 

“Get in.”

“Where are we going?” Isaac asked, as Cora put her car in reverse and left the parking lot.

“The preserve. I know a place where no one will bother us,” she said as she put on her turn signal. 

Isaac was quiet as Cora drove out of town the paved road giving way to a well worn dirt one. After about 20 minutes she parked and undid her seatbelt. 

“Do you think you could make it to the back seat or does it hurt too much?”

“What?”

“You should be lying down for this.”

Before Isaac could find words to reply Cora was getting out of the car and opening the passenger’s side door. 

“Come on. I don’t have all day,” she said annoyedly, even undoing his seatbelt. Isaac allowed Cora to arrange him in the back seat such that he was lying across it with his head in her lap. He couldn’t help the gasp that escaped when her fingers touched his wounded ribs. 

“Here?” she asked quietly. 

“Uh--yeah,” he replied looking at her upside down, suddenly feeling euphoric as the pain that had been bothering him all day faded, looking at Cora’s hand he saw her veins turning black.

“What’s happening to you?” he asked, startled, trying to sit up. Cora stopped him from getting up with a hand pressed against his chest. 

“I’m taking your pain away idiot,” Cora said gazing into his eyes. 

“What--how are you doing that?” Isaac asked, too relaxed to be freaked out. 

Cora laughed as she ran a hand through his hair, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Sitting up suddenly, Isaac turned to face Cora. “Seriously, Cora tell me what the fuck is going on right now.”

Not speaking, Cora thought about how likely it was that Isaac would believe her when she admitted she came from a family of werewolves but on the spot like this it was pretty unlikely that she’d be able to come up with a convincing lie. 

“What about to tell you will be hard to believe but you asked for it---I’m a werewolf,” she said grimly. 

“Cora, that’s not funny--what’s wrong with your face,” Isaac trailed off, taking in Cora’s fangs and yellow eyes. 

“I told you. I’m a--”

“--werewolf, I believe you now,” Isaac said as he reached a hand out to touch Cora’s face. Everything got much weirder when Cora’s face rearranged itself so it looked normal--right under Isaac’s fingertips. 

“That explains the claws and the eyes but not what you were doing last night at the pool. I’m assuming that wasn’t weed in that bowl,” Isaac said looking at her expectantly. 

Sighing, “You’re right. It wasn’t. It was wolfsbane. It’s one of the only things that can hurt wolves,” Cora replied, refusing to meet Isaac’s eyes. 

“If it can hurt you why were you--Jesus Cora what were you doing yesterday?” Isaac said grabbing her by the shoulders. 

Cora felt her eyes fill with tears, “Cora look at me. What were you doing?” 

“It kind of sounds like you know what I was doing,”

“Why would you try and kill yourself?” Isaac asked. 

Cora scoffed, “It’s stupid,” she muttered. 

“I’m pretty sure all reasons to commit suicide are stupid,” Isaac retorted, feeling angry and not knowing why. 

“I’ve already revealed one intense personal secret that has to be enough for today.”

Sitting back, Isaac looked at Cora, taking in the tense set of her shoulders and the faraway look in her eyes. 

“I’m not going to give up, but you did me a solid by doing your mystical werewolf mojo on my ribs,” Isaac said. 

“Since we’re sharing--how long has your dad been beating the crap out of you and what do you plan to do about it?”

“The answer is: none of your damn business and nothing,” Isaac said, scowling fiercely. 

Sensing weakness, Cora leaned forward, “Not in the mood to share?” 

Isaac said nothing and resolutely stared out the window. 

“Yeah not so much fun revealing your deepest darkest secrets,” Cora said under her breath. 

A pregnant pause followed. Finally Cora spoke, unable to deal with the awkward silence. 

“Stiles asked me to go with him to Winter Formal,” she blurted out. 

Isaac snorted, “Isn’t he in love with Lydia?”

“That’s what I said,” Cora exclaimed, finally feeling vindicated. 

Isaac laughed, “How do your ribs feel?” Cora asked, locking eyes with Isaac. “Do you need me to take your pain away again?”

“I’m okay. How does this magical morphine fit in with the howling at the moon and the fangs and claws?”

Cora shrugged, “I don't know. I’ve just always been able to do this.”

“So your entire family is werewolves,” stated Isaac. 

“Not everyone but most of them, yes,” Cora replied. 

“Wow that’s crazy.” Isaac said. 

“That’s life,” Cora said feeling exhausted, “I have to get home. Do you want a ride to your house?”

Isaac blinked, “That’d be great.”

They both got out of the backseat and Cora started driving back into Beacon Hills proper away from the woods. 

“Here’s fine,” Isaac said as she stopped three houses away from his.

“Isaac,” Cora said before he opened the door. “I won’t tell anyone about your dad. But there’s something you should know.”

“What?”

“If you took the bite then your dad wouldn’t be able to hurt you anymore.”

“What? You mean there’s a way for a human to become a werewolf?”

“You’d have to be bitten by an alpha but, yes there is. You’d have increased strength, heightened senses--you’d even heal way faster.”

Isaac gaped, what was even going on? Take the bite and become a werewolf--had his life turned into an episode of Buffy when he wasn’t paying attention?

“Think about it,” Cora said looking at him intently, Isaac said nothing as he got out of the car, still dumbfounded he watched Cora drive away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! feel free to find my tumblr @conversewit


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gratuitous use of emoticons

When Cora got home she found Peter and Derek in kitchen, bickering about what to make for dinner.

“Cora please tell your brother that it wouldn’t kill him to live a little,” said Peter as he stood over the stove stirring something. 

“What does that have to do with making dinner?” she asked as she shrugged out of her jacket and hung it up. 

“Really? YOLO is the reason why the chili has to have jalapenos?” Derek asked nastily, moving aside when Cora stuck her head in the fridge to grab a drink. 

“Expand your horizons Derek. Do you want to eat the same bland chili your whole life?” Peter said, stirring as he spoke. 

“I get the feeling we’re not talking about the same thing here,” muttered Derek under his breath, as Cora watched her brother and uncle trade quips. 

“Is there cornbread?” she asked hopefully. 

“It’s in the oven!” Derek called over his shoulder as he left the kitchen, presumably to go up to his room to brood and to write emo poetry. 

“Yes!” Cora said to herself as she went to open the oven where inside lay two trays of delicious, golden yellow cornbread. 

Closing the oven door, Cora paused, trying to best put into words what she wanted to ask her uncle. 

“Cora. You’re lurking,” Peter said not turning away from the stove.  

“So in a hypothetical situation where I was in a position where I found myself knowing someone who desperately needed to take the bite, how would I go about getting them to take it?” Cora asked, wincing at how vague her wording was. 

“When you say this person--excuse me this hypothetical person---desperately needs the bite, what does that mean?” Peter asked turning off the burner and putting a lid on his dish. 

Cora bit her lip, “In this completely imaginary predicament, the person to whom I am referring bears no resemblance to any person living or dead, finds him or herself in the situation of being abused by his or her parent or guardian.” 

Peter stared at her blankly and for a minute Cora was worried that her uncle was unable to comprehend what she was trying to tell him, which was unsurprising as it was probably the most convoluted sentence she’d ever spoken.

“And in this situation how does the fictional version of yourself find out that your hypothetical friend is being abused?” 

“That’s not important,” Cora said quickly.

Peter frowned, “And that’s all the detail you can give me?” 

“Yes,” she said quickly, “I mean it’s a hypothetical so there aren’t that many details.” she finished lamely. 

Peter fixed her with his sassiest stare which only made Cora slump against the kitchen counter in frustration. “Are you going to help or not,” she mumbled, suddenly tired of the conversation. 

“Well. First I would have to consider the danger of revealing the existence of werewolves to this person. A decision that could not only endanger my life but the lives of my entire family,” Peter paused to look at Cora significantly. 

“After I thought about that---long and hard--because it would literally be a life or death situation, I would then have consider the possibility that this person that I’m trying to help wouldn’t want to take the bite because while I’ve been a werewolf all my life someone else might not be ready or be willing to undergo the change.” Peter finished as he started taking dishes out of the cabinet to set the table. 

“What does that--” 

“And only after I did those things would I consider bringing this to your mother, at which point, your mother would make the final decision. Bear in mind that since her bite is the only one that can Turn humans, you would have to be ready to deal with fact that your mother, the Alpha, might not want or need a bitten wolf in her pack,” Peter continued, opening a drawer and placing silverware into Cora’s hands.  

Cora tried to say something but Peter cut her off again, turning her around and pushing her toward the dining room table.

“And if this person started to consider taking the bite, which is a huge life changing decision, I’d have to make sure that I wasn’t pressuring him or her in anyway. I’d have to allow that person the dignity of his or her own choice,” Frowning, Cora began to clear away miscellaneous papers and more than one of Derek’s dog eared paperbacks, before laying the silverware on top of the placemats.

“What are you guys talking about?” Derek asked, frowning as he stepped into the dining room.

Cora was saved from having to reply by the sound of the keys in the front door.

\---

 

It was nice to have a quiet family dinner, even though Laura was away, the normal chaos of wrangling the whole pack for a sit down meal conspicuously absent making the house seem peaceful. Cora was dedicating all her focus on soaking her beloved cornbread in hearty chili, which was why she didn’t hear her father asking her a question.

“Huh?” she replied eloquently, realizing that everyone was now staring at her. Derek rolled his eyes and Cora resisted the urge to kick him in the shins. Looking at his bowl she noticed that he had passive aggressively picked all the jalapenos out of his food and had them arranged on his napkin.

“I was asking you if you were going to this holiday dance everyone keeps talking about.” Ben said, eyes crinkling in amusement.

Looking at her father, who so clearly loved her, made Cora suddenly guilty. What would have happened if Isaac hadn’t been at the pool last night? Would her father still eat his chili with one arm draped over her mother’s chair, gently ribbing Peter, and talking to Derek about the Giants/Diamondbacks game he had missed? Or would he and the rest of her family be devastated that she was gone--without warning, without even leaving a note, blinking, she forced herself to answer.

“It’s the Winter Formal, Dad and yes I’m going,” Cora replied, pushing her food around her plate.  

“Who’s been talking to you about it?” Derek asked, frowning.

Ben heaved a great sigh, “Apparently, Jackson is raising hell about getting a limo and since he’s driving David crazy, David comes to work and drives me crazy,” he replied, referring to David Whittemore, Jackson’s father and Ben’s partner at his law firm. 

“Are you planning on going with anyone?” asked her mother.

“Oh--um actually,” Cora looked down at her plate, feeling embarrassed,“I’m going with Stiles,” she mumbled quickly. 

Derek’s eyebrows raised so much they looked like they were in danger of climbing right off his head, “Stilinski?” he asked incredulously.

“Do you know any other?” Cora muttered crossly, glaring at her brother.

“Sheriff Stilinski is a good man,” Talia cut in smoothly to head off any potential bloodshed at the dinner table.

“You should invite Stiles over to dinner.” Her dad suggested, pinning his brown eyes on Cora’s face.

“What? Why?” Cora asked indignantly, “We’re not even dating, we’re just going together.” She said, feeling self conscious.

“Don’t get so riled up Cora,” Talia admonished gently, “It’s just dinner.”

“It’s not like we’re going to throw him to the wolves,” Peter chimed in, as her mother and father laughed at the millionth pun made about what they were.

“But still, he’s the first boy you’ve gone a date with,” Ben said, wiping his mouth with a napkin, “So I’d like to meet him.”

Before Cora could open her mouth to protest her mother cut in, “Ask him to come over for dinner on Friday, we’ll be having pot roast,” Talia said, her tone brooking no argument.

\---    

Stiles was sitting at his usual lunch table, poking at his soggy tuna sandwich half-heartedly, when Cora slammed her lunch tray down across from him. Looking at the tense set of her shoulders, Stiles asked, “Everything alright?”

“You have to come to dinner at my house on Friday,” Cora said, frowning seriously. Her hearing told her that Scott was still standing by the lunch line, talking about chocolate milk with Allison which was good, Cora didn’t feel like having an audience for this conversation.

“Why?”

“My dad wants to meet you,” she replied, noting how the color slowly drained out of Stiles’ face.

“Why?”

“Why do you think? It’s not going to be that bad. We’re having pot roast. Just show up and try not to talk too much.” Cora said. Stiles still didn’t look reassured, understandably so, this was going to be a disaster.

“Bet you’re regretting not asking Lydia,” Cora said, standing up to head to her usual table. She was sitting down next to Jackson when she heard Stiles reply, “Actually I’m not,” he said to his sandwich.   

Cora pretended to look through her backpack to hide the sudden flush on her cheeks.

\---

After the lunch bell, Cora headed to chemistry, where she sat in her usual seat next to Boyd, only to find that Erica was sitting next to her today. Making sure Harris wasn’t paying attention, she whispered, “Where’s Boyd?”

“Doctor’s appointment,” Erica replied, her pale face still pinned to the chalkboard where Harris was writing information about the noble gases. Cora shrugged and spent the next ten minutes taking notes and doodling.

She had just finished copying down the uses for neon when Erica pushed her notebook away from her self and toward Cora. Raising an eyebrow, Cora glanced at what Erica had scribbled at the top of her notes.

_Are you going with Boyd to formal?_

Rolling her eyes, Cora waiting until Harris was occupied with criticizing Stiles before replying.

_No. But you definitely should._

Cora didn’t expect this to cause Erica to start sputtering, which in turn caught Harris’ attention.

“Reyes!” He barked, “Do you need to go to the nurse?”

“Sorry Mr. Harris, I told Erica a joke while she was drinking from her water bottle,” Cora cut in before Erica could reply.

“Would you mind sharing your comedy routine with the rest of the class?”

Ignoring Erica’s strange look, “Oxygen and Magnesium went on a date. Everyone was like OMG,” Cora deadpanned.

Harris and the rest of the class stared at her blankly until the awkward silence was broken by Stiles laughing loudly, clearly he was the only one of her classmates who appreciated lame chemistry humor. 

“As topical as that was, magnesium oxide is MgO, so maybe comedy isn’t your strong suit,” If there ever was a time that Cora wanted to claw out Harris’ eyeballs, that would have been it. But being a born werewolf had taught her that emotions didn’t control her actions, so Cora waited for Harris’ back to be turned before rolling her eyes.

_ASK BOYD. HE WILL SAY YES  ;)_

Alright, maybe the winky face was a bit much, given how nervous Erica looked after reading Cora’s message. Boyd worked the strong and silent schtick like it was his job--he was way too reserved to even think about asking Erica to go with him, even if he wanted to take her.

\--

Cora was trying to fit her calculus textbook in her locker, with little success, when Isaac stepped up next to her. He didn’t say anything, so Cora waited until she managed to wrench her locker shut and then spoke: “Have you thought about it?”

When she finally looked at Isaac she almost gasped. His normally fair skin looked ashen, there were deep circles under his eyes, and he had a hunted look about him. Narrowing her eyes, she grabbed his wrist and led him outside and onto the bleachers. It was too soon after the last bell for lacrosse practice to start, which gave them precious little privacy, but Cora didn’t have time for an extended jaunt to the preserve.

From the bleachers, Cora could see the parking lot quickly emptying as everyone who didn’t have to stay after school left as fast as they could. If she really concentrated she could hear Lydia and Allison getting into Lydia’s car, talking about their plans for the weekend.

Returning to the situation at hand she looked at Isaac, “Where?”

He was silent, “My back.”

Not letting go of Isaac’s wrist, Cora placed her other hand on his back, right between his shoulderblades. Keeping her eyes on the field, she watched as Finstock started frantically blowing his whistle at Greenberg, who was setting up equipment, probably in an attempt to make his least favorite player move faster.

Wincing a little, Cora took her hand away from Isaac’s back so she could entwine their fingers.

“This is way worse than last time,” she said, keeping her voice low. Even though it was pretty unlikely that anyone would be able to hear her over Coach’s shrieking whistle.

“It’s not that bad,” Isaac said, keeping his gaze pinned on his shoes.

Cora squeezed Isaac’s hands. Her parents had always used physical touches in a positive way to show affection or in Laura’s case, to prove that she was the worst by giving noogies to Cora and Derek when it struck her fancy. It wasn’t a stretch to guess that Isaac had precious little of that in his life.

“I did it to myself,” Isaac said.

“What,” Cora replied in shock, hearing the truth of it in Isaac’s heartbeat.

“He locked me up--I hurt my back trying to get out.”

Cora didn’t need a mirror to know that her eyes were flashing yellow, it was probably unsettling for Isaac to hear her grinding her fangs together, and her mother would have given her hell if she’d seen Cora doing it in public but she need something to keep her rage in check.

“Cora, you’re bleeding.”

Her left eye was probably twitching too, “Don’t worry, it’ll stop in a minute,” swiping her tongue over her teeth--not fangs--to get the blood off, she took a deep breath and looked at Isaac’s worried face.

“Do you have an answer?”

Isaac paused before answering, “If I took it--the bite--how would it work?"

Frowning, Cora rubbed her eyes before answering, “If it took, you’d be a part of my pack. My mother would be your Alpha.”

“So like my boss?”

“Not exactly, I mean she is in charge. But all the decisions she makes are because she’s got our best interests at heart. We get to have a say too.”

“So like a mom?”

“Yeah I guess. Well she is technically my mom.”

“What about the moon?”

“What about it?”

“When I found you--that night, it wasn’t full. So does it not affect you?”

“We can shift at will. But the shift is also triggered by extreme emotions and stress. I don’t have to shift at the full moon but usually we have a bonfire, cook food, and go on runs through the preserve. It’s actually kind of nice. And my dad makes special pancakes with bacon cooked into them the next morning,” Cora said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she remembered all the moons she’d spent sandwiched between Laura and Derek. The feeling of complete safety hearing Peter and her mother’s howls in the forest, running together and feeling a part of something that was bigger than just herself. 

“So what stops you from shifting every time Jackson’s a dick?”

Cora snorted, “You need to find an anchor. Something that keeps your human side in control.”

“So what’s yours?”

“Family.”

Looking out on the field Cora could see a few players walking out of the locker room and onto the field.

“Look, I don’t know if you’ve made a decision either way. I don’t want to pressure you or anything. I still have to talk to my mom. She’s going to kill me for telling you. But think about it. I wouldn’t have told just anyone.”

“Are you saying I’m special?”

“I’m saying it’s not for everyone. And if it’s not for you that’s fine. I won’t be mad.”

“And if it is?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I’ve got to go, I’m late for my senior portrait.” Cora said as she slung her bag over her shoulder and hurried to her car.

\---  

Trying to find parking made Cora an extra 10 minutes late for her appointment. So that meant the only other person there was Matt, who worked for Peter part time.

“Hey Matt,” Cora said putting her bag down on top of the front desk. “Where’s Peter?”

“In the back with Derek,” Matt said absently as he clicked through image after image on an iMac. “I think they’re moving lights around for you.”

Cora frowned as she tried to make out the heated discussion her brother and uncle were having in the large back room, which depending on how busy the studio was could be divided into separate sections so multiple shoots could happen simultaneously.

“--I thought she wasn’t supposed to come back to Beacon Hills--”

“--Argents aren’t especially trustworthy--”

“---Mom said that--”

“--stay away from Kate--”

Cora was so intently focused on trying to hear what was being said over the tremendous racket Peter and Derek were making, she didn't hear Matt asking her a question.

“I asked if you were here to get your portrait taken for the yearbook,” Matt said, looking up from his computer.

“Oh yeah. Benefits of being related to the photographer means I don’t have to sacrifice a Saturday morning doing this,” she said half-heartedly.

“I’m thrilled my fashionably late niece has arrived,” Peter said as he appeared, Derek trailing behind him.

“See you Thursday Peter,” Matt said, picking up his bag and nodding at Cora before leaving.

“There’s something off about that kid,” Derek muttered once Matt was out of earshot.

“Takes one to know one,” Cora replied under breath.

“Would it kill you to run a comb through your hair, Cora? You do know that this is going in your yearbook, right?” Peter interjected smoothly.

\---

After spending an unreasonable amount of time making sure every strand of her hair was in place, Peter had finally taken a senior portrait worthy of his artistic vision. Cora was now in her room avoiding doing her English homework.

Switching tabs to check her email, she saw that she had a Gchat from Allison.

**Allison Argent**

Hey, I can’t go dress shopping on Saturday

**Cora Hale**

Why not?

**Allison Argent**

My aunt is in town.

**Cora Hale**

Awww. Lydia will be cranky >.<

 **Allison Argent**  

I know. But my aunt Kate kind of just showed up. And she’s family so I’d feel bad bailing on her. I think she wants to take me shopping--just the two of us.

**Cora Hale**

That’s kinda weird that she didn’t call or anything

**Allison Argent**

Yeah. She’s like that

Cora hoped that Allison didn’t find anything strange about her sudden interest in Kate. But she had a better chance of landing on the moon than getting Peter or Derek to tell her about the conversation that she wasn’t supposed to have been eavesdropping on.

**Cora Hale**

I didn’t even know you had an aunt. Are you guys close?

**Allison Argent**

She’s my dad’s sister but she’s really young so she’s almost like my sister. But she travels a lot so I don’t get to see her.

**Cora Hale**

Cool. I still can’t believe that you’re leaving me alone with Lydia. You know she’s going to try and pick out my dress for me

**Allison Argent**

:D Jackson’s prob going to be there

**Cora Hale**

Great so all 3 of us can watch The Notebook afterward. Gross

**Allison Argent**

:-P

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the Hales are alive, Kate obviously didn't succeed in burning the house down. But she and Derek still have a history that will be revealed in the later chapters. Right now the fic is headed toward a blend of seasons 1&2, told through Cora's POV and obviously very AU. The conversation btw Cora and Peter is influenced by the head canon I have that had Talia lived, Peter learns his lesson from what happened in 3x07 (somewhat) and tries not to be such a manipulative bastard.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a little Derek/Stiles interaction this chapter.

Squinting down at his grocery list, Chris Argent tried to decipher what it said, for such a beautiful girl, Allison’s handwriting was atrocious. Rubbing his eyes, he moved to butcher section to check out the steak selection. 

He was considering a package of tenderloin when he noticed Ben Hale standing at his shoulder. Suppressing the urge to sigh, he grabbed a package of chicken breast to place in his cart before acknowledging the other man with a nod. 

“Chris,” Ben said eyes pinned to the ground beef. 

“What can I do for you Ben?” Chris asked tiredly. 

“I think you know what this is about,” Ben said with his trademark quiet intensity. 

Before Chris could reply Ben spoke again, “What is she doing back here?”

“She’s just passing through,” Chris said in response, knowing it was a weak defense at best. Chris cursed himself inwardly, he’d left his .45 back in the SUV and felt naked with only his knife in a thigh holster. It was unlikely that this conversation would come to blows between the deli case and the cheese section, but it was better to be prepared. 

“I know she’s your sister and also a sociopath, which means no one can control her,” Ben paused to pick up three packages of turkey bacon, “But if she comes near my son or my family again I will gut her like cattle,” he finished, clapping Chris on the shoulder before rolling his cart toward the checkout. 

\--

“Which shirt says ‘I’m a respectable boy who should be allowed to date your daughter’?” Stiles asked Scott holding up two different plaid shirts.

“Dude, they’re both the same,” said Scott lying Stiles’ bed and throwing a lacrosse ball up and down. 

“What are you talking about? They’re completely different!” Stiles exclaimed, feeling a bit manic, as he went into his closet to get more shirts. 

“You’re freaking out about this whole Cora thing. Just calm down. It’s not that big a deal.”

“Not a big deal. How could you say that? I’ve never met a girl’s parents before. What about this shirt?” Stiles asked looking at himself in the mirror, holding up two more plaid shirts. 

“How come you’re going with Cora anyway? What happened to your ten year plan to make Lydia your wife?” Scott asked, sitting up. 

Stiles was now sorting through his blazers, of which he had way too many for a 17 year old boy, in Scott’s opinion. 

“Cora is really cool. And I dunno I just thought that I could go stag after Lydia inevitably rejected me or I could go with Cora and have fun, you know?” 

“Man, is my little boy growing up?” Scott said, coming up behind Stiles, and wrapping him in a headlock. After a couple of minutes, Stiles maneuvered the two of them so they ended up wrestling on the floor, plaid shirts falling to the ground as Stiles unsuccessfully tried to put Scott in a headlock. 

“I wish I could say that this was the first time I walked in on something like this,” said the Sheriff cutting through Scott’s yelling, as he poked his head into Stiles’ room. 

“What’s up Dad?” Stiles asked from his place on the floor, with Scott sitting on his chest. .

“I wanted to remind you that I’m working a double tonight, so I won’t be home for dinner. Why are all your shirts on the floor?” asked the Sheriff, hands on his belt as he stepped into his son’s room. 

Stiles flushed, “He’s going to dinner at Cora’s tonight and he can’t figure out what to wear,” Scott said before Stiles could reply.

“Ah. Meeting the parents. Well, don’t wear any of your flannels.” The Sheriff said wisely, surveying the plaid tornado that had exploded all over his son’s bedroom.

“But I only have flannels. Am I supposed to go shirtless? That’ll make a great impression on her parents, I’m sure,” Stiles collapsed on his bed and began ranting to himself. The Sheriff and Scott shared an exasperated look.

“Just wear that black sweater and pants that are not jeans,” the Sheriff said as he turned to leave. “And make sure you’re not home too late!” He called as he made his way down the stairs. Smiling to himself as he overheard Scott criticizing Stiles’ choice in shoes, without a doubt Claudia was laughing her ass off from wherever she was watching their only son freak out over shirts. 

\--

Once again, Cora had been saddled with the menial task of setting the table. Who told Derek he was allowed to leave his Vonnegut everywhere? She finished pairing the last set of forks and knives when the doorbell rang. 

It was bad enough that every wolf in the house could hear Stiles trying to psych himself up so he could ring the doorbell, but because there was no God Peter was the one who answered the door when Stiles finally rang the bell. Cora wanted to claw her own eyeballs out. 

“You must be Stiles,” Peter said, as Stiles was subjected to the most judgmental set of elevator eyes in the history of the world. “And you brought daisies? How charming.”

Stiles was looking flustered under the scrutiny, “They’re Cora’s favorite,” he mumbled. 

To save things from getting so awkward the universe would collapse onto itself Talia spoke, “Isn’t that the sweetest thing? Come in, come in. Let me get a vase for these,” her mother said, hustling Stiles into the dining room, where Cora was standing. 

“Hi,” said Stiles, rocking back and forth on his heels. 

“Thanks for the flowers,” replied Cora, feeling supremely uncomfortable, “How did you know they were my favorite?” 

“I--um, I asked Allison.”

“Oh.”

After that, they stood silently in the dining room, while Talia and Ben were in the kitchen. Dimly, Cora heard the back door slam and her mother berating Derek for losing track of time when she had dinner waiting on the stove. 

Stiles was about speak but before he could Derek came into the dining room--sweaty and shirtless from his run. 

“Ugh you stink--I hope you’re going to take a shower before we eat dinner,” Cora said automatically, wrinkling her nose. 

“I hope you don’t mind waiting to eat dinner because I have to take a shower,” Derek replied--ever the asshole, walking past a gobsmacked Stiles, who looked like he was going to pass out. Despite the fact that Derek possessed a master’s degree he was still too thick to notice that Stiles had not once taken his wide eyes off Derek’s sweaty ass since he entered the room.

Resisting the urge to howl in frustration--because of course, that was Cora’s life--that Stiles fucking Stilinski was here because he’d asked Cora out but couldn’t take his eyes off her meathead brother--instead Cora shouted up the stairs, “Stop leaving your stuff everywhere! The next time I have to organize your dumb hipster paperbacks they’re going in the woodchipper.”  
\---

Despondently Cora moved her fork back and forth through her mashed potatoes while she listened with half an ear to Peter ask Stiles a series of intrusive questions. Luckily she tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear her father ask Stiles if he’d ever been to the Old Orchard drive-in.

“I always feel like it would be really cool to go but Scott always wants to go the Regal because it has all the new releases,” Stiles replied easily, helping himself to more pot roast. 

“Oh, I’m sure Cora wouldn’t mind going, would you Cora?” Ben said, smiling and looking at his youngest daughter. 

“That sounds fun,” replied Cora, while trying to communicate how unimpressed she was with her father just by using her eyebrows. Judging by how enthused her wan response made Ben, it didn’t seem to have worked. 

“Actually, I think they just got Man of Steel,” cut in Derek, and making Cora want to stab him with her fork. 

It was sad how cute Stiles was when his eyes lit up, Cora mused, “That’s actually awesome. Even though I disagree with the idea of a dark Superman movie.”

“I know right. The whole point of Superman is that he’s supposed to be this bright, patriotic figure--”

“--who’s supposed to be the foil to how dark Batman is,” Stiles finished, smiling. 

Cora wondered if anyone would even notice if she cut her own throat with a butter knife. 

\---

“Fetch Riot! That’s a good girl,” Cora rubbed the family’s German Shepherd behind her ears. “You’re such a good girl Riot,” she said pressing her face against Riot’s brown fur, “I bet you would never go over to someone’s house and flirt with their brother, would you?”

Riot answered by licking Cora’s nose, “Little chilly to be out, don’t you think?” asked her father as he sat next to her on the back steps. 

“You should wear a bell,” Cora muttered as she threw the beat up tennis ball across the yard for Riot to retrieve. 

Ben laughed, “Sweetheart is everything alright? You seemed quiet at dinner.”  
Cora weighed her options before answering. Although her father was human and had never been able to hear her heartbeat he’d also spent his entire life being raised by and raising werewolves so it would be futile to try and lie to him. 

“It felt like being on a really great first date,” Cora ignored Ben’s confused look, “Stiles and Derek’s first date.”

“Just because Stiles and Derek share some of the same interests doesn’t mean that--”

“You didn’t smell what I smelled Dad,” interrupted Cora darkly. 

Ben grimaced. “So it was a swing and a miss. Don’t let it get you down. You’re too pretty a girl to put all your eggs in one basket.”

“If only that were true.”

“Of course it is,” Ben said cheerfully, swinging an arm around her shoulders, “You got your looks from this handsome devil after all.” Cora couldn’t help but snort. 

“Oh Handsome Devil, would you mind taking out the garbage?” Talia called from the kitchen.

\--- 

“Ouch that’s awkward,” Allison said as looked through her closet. The next day after school Cora had retreated to the Argent house. 

“Tell me about it,” Cora said from her position on Allison’s bed. 

“Well, there’s plenty more fish in the sea,” Allison said going to sit at her computer desk. 

Cora groaned, “That’s exactly what my dad said.”

Allison laughed, “It’s true. What about Isaac?”

Cora sat up abruptly, “What?”

“Isaac Lahey, I saw you sitting next to him on the bleachers earlier. Just take him,” Allison said, idly clicking through Facebook. 

Before Cora could reply there was a knock on the door and a brunette woman poked her head in. 

“Allison, your father wanted me to remind you that we’re going out for dinner tonight.”

“Oh I almost forgot, thanks Kate,” Allison replied absentmindedly.

“Allison don’t be rude, introduce me to your friend.” Kate said, as she stepped fully into the room.

“Oh, Cora this is my Aunt Kate. Kate this is my friend Cora,” Allison said. 

Kate Argent was an attractive, dark haired woman who looked like she could pass for being in her late 20s, when she was actually probably in her early 30s. Allison couldn’t smell it but Kate reeked of wolfsbane and gun powder which set Cora’s teeth on edge. 

“Hi Cora, it’s so nice to meet some of Allison’s friends,” Kate said, smiling plastically, extending her hand. Cora wasn’t sure if this was how Kate dealt with everyone or if she knew that Cora was a wolf and was trying not to act suspicious. 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Cora replied cautiously, “Allison said you travel a lot for work. That must be so cool.”

Kate kept smiling, “It is, but it’s also nice to be back in Beacon Hills,” she said, tucking a piece of Allison’s hair behind her ear.

“Are you here on business?” Cora asked, hoping this line of questioning didn’t seem too interrogatory. 

“Just tying up some loose ends,” Kate said, just as Cora’s phone vibrated with a text from Derek announcing that he was outside to pick her up. 

“Oh Derek’s here to pick me up, see you at school Allison.” Cora said, grabbing her bag and fighting the urge to jump out the window. Instead she ran down the stairs, saying an abrupt goodbye Chris Argent before all but jumping into the Camaro. 

Derek frowned, “What’s with you--” he started to ask. Cora saw the exact moment when Derek caught Kate’s scent. His entire face shut down--devoid of any emotion he started driving toward their house. 

“I just met Allison’s aunt, Kate.” Cora said blithely, trying to get a reaction.

“Oh yeah?” Derek’s heart sounded like it was about to jump out of his chest with how erratic it suddenly became. 

“It’s so weird. I could have sworn that you and Peter were arguing about someone named Kate coming into town, the day I had to take my senior portrait. And then Allison’s aunt Kate pays her a surprise visit. Isn’t that the weirdest coincidence?” Cora asked, not looking up from her phone. 

A muscle in Derek’s jaw ticked, “It’s a pretty common name Cora,” said her brother as navigated the Camaro along the dirt road that led to their house, “What I would like to know is why you were eavesdropping on a private conversation?” 

Classic Derek evasion--trying to turn the blame on her. Cora didn’t take the bait, “I smelled wolfsbane on Allison’s aunt, Derek. She’s a hunter isn’t she?”

Derek put the car in park and let his hands rest on the wheel before answering. “That’s not something you should be worried about.”

Cora couldn’t mask her aggravation, as she raised voice “You’re telling me that as a werewolf I shouldn’t be worried about the sudden appearance of a werewolf hunter in town? Especially when said werewolf hunter is related to one of my closest friends? Stop treating me like a child and just--”

“You are a child Cora! So just stop,” Derek interrupted, practically shouting over her to make himself heard. Cora was momentarily stunned, as much as other people seemed to intimidated by Derek, he was actually a generally quiet person who was content to let his sisters make all the noise. “When I say it’s not something you need to worry about, believe me. I’m looking out for you so for once in your life, just let me.”

Derek turned to look at her, with their mother’s eyes staring at her from under Derek’s thick eyebrows, Cora felt an instant rush of guilt. 

“Okay,” she said, a tad petulantly. 

“Okay, I’m glad we’re in agreement,” Derek said as he took the keys out of the ignition.

Derek swung his arm around her shoulders as they walked up the porch steps. “Beside all you need to worry about is opening all those college acceptance letters.”

Cora tried to swallow around the lump her throat, “Yeah I’m counting down the minutes until the first one arrives.”

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning for an attempted suicide and references to child abuse


End file.
